Franken targets senators from both parties in new comedy tour

Former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) is going after his past colleagues on both the left and the right in his new comedy tour, “The Only Former U.S. Senator Currently on Tour Tour.” 

Franken, who was a writer and occasional performer on “Saturday Night Live” prior to his political career, targets Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in his routine, as well as Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), The Washington Post reported. 

“I like Ted Cruz more than most of my colleagues like Ted Cruz. And I really hate Ted Cruz,” Franken told the crowd at his first show in Northampton, Mass., on Saturday, according to The Post. 

On Feinstein, Franken said that because of his background in comedy, the California Senator told him “when you first came here, I thought you were going to be stupid,” The Post reported.

Although Franken goes after his former colleagues in his routine, he also expresses remorse over his 2018 resignation from the Senate after several women accused him of sexual impropriety.   

“The job is so friggin’ great,” Franken told the crowd Saturday, according to The Post. 

Fans who attended the opening performance told The Post they missed Franken’s presence in the Senate and wished he hadn’t left. 

“I think he got railroaded,” one attendee told the newspaper. “I think we all should be rewarded with due process.” 

Franken said last week that he is “keeping my options open” on a return to public office and expressed the same sentiments to The Post.

“I miss making a difference in the ways that I could,” he said.